Bree nodded, and for the next hour we talked about what we could possibly do it on. The professor had been lenient about the subject of the project, so that really left it all up to us. Did watching Disney movies when you were younger affect your outlook on life when you were older? We specified movies, because I knew Disney had its own channel, not to mention it owned a bunch of other networks and had its own streaming service now.
Our hypothesis was yes. Yes, being obsessed with Disney when you were younger was related to how you viewed life when you were older.
Bree was into it, which was good. I wanted her to enjoy this project as much as anyone could enjoy a college psychology experiment.
What Bree failed to realize, however, was how close to home this experiment truly was to her. We weren’t saying watching the movies when you were younger affected you outright when you were older, but there was probably something to be said about how many times girls watched the princess movies and how they viewed dating when they were older. Guys? I didn’t think guys watched Disney nearly the same amount as the girls. Hell, I didn’t think I’ve ever seen Sleeping Beauty or any of those older ones.
Finding Nemo, though? That shit was awesome.
By the time we’d settled on what we were doing, it was early afternoon. Kind of late, and my stomach was not happy since I’d skipped lunch. We’d decided to meet at the library again sometime this week—we’d discuss it in class, since we’d see each other every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—to check out and make copies of the scholarly articles we’d use to write the paper and back up our hypothesis.
Bree and I were walking out of the library together when I stopped beside her and said, “Did you eat lunch?”
She shook her head, the outside breeze whipping her pink hair around. Today was a bit warm for any jackets, and yet she looked snug in her long sweater. I couldn’t help but wonder, right then, what she looked like under that fabric. I bet she looked fantastic naked.
No, definitely shouldn’t be thinking of her body without any clothes on. Definitely not…
“You want to stop by the union and pick some up? I’ll buy,” I offered, giving her a smile I hoped she couldn’t deny.
And, for a long moment, it looked like she was about to—but then something inside her changed, and she let out a soft sigh. “I guess I could eat a little something.”
That I would consider a win.
We walked to the union together, Bree mostly being quiet and listening to me ramble and joke about anything that crossed my mind. That girl better be careful; I would weasel my way into her heart before she knew it.
Chapter Seven – Bree
It was seven on Tuesday night when my sister Michelle barged into my room, folding her arms across her chest and giving me an unimpressed and yet pissed off look. I was sitting at my desk, figuring out possible questions Mason and I could use for our questionnaire for the psychology project, but I had to stop the moment I met my sister’s stare.
She really didn’t look happy, for whatever reason.
I blinked, really just wanting her to go away. “What?”
Michelle’s blonde hair was up in a messy bun—a bun that looked cute, something I was never able to accomplish. She wore skin-tight leggings and a low-cut shirt that was half see-through. For once, she wasn’t hanging out with Kyle.
If she was with Kyle, at least she wouldn’t be in my room, about to bug me with whatever was on her mind. Although…it kind of looked like she was angry with me, which was just ridiculous, because I hadn’t done anything—
“Guess what I just heard from Kyle,” Michelle spoke, stepping inside before kicking the door closed behind her with her foot.
I had no idea how the hell I was supposed to know what Kyle just told her, but I knew Michelle well enough that if I didn’t play this game with her, she’d never leave my room. “Uh, I don’t know. He got another gecko?” Kyle had a thing for lizards. Every few months it seemed he got another one.
And then, a few months later, it somehow got out and disappeared. Everyone in their family blamed their cat.
“No,” Michelle stated, cocking her head at me like I was the one at fault, which was ridiculous. I had no idea…
Oh. Oh, wait.
“Kyle just told me that Calum said he has another date with you on Friday.” A muscle in Michelle’s face twitched as she strained an annoyed smile. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me? When did this happen? Bree, I asked you for details about when he took you home, but you said nothing happened.”
“Nothing did happen,” I said, though I swallowed down any other arguments when I remembered those soft lips of his on my cheek. Okay, besides a quick, chaste kiss on the cheek, nothing did happen.
Okay, the kiss and him asking me out on a redo date. But I knew the redo date was only a pity date. And, frankly, it hadn’t crossed my mind lately, since I’d been drowning myself in the project with Mason. Mason, who…in spite of everything, seemed to be enjoying every second he spent with me. I had no idea what game he was playing, but I wanted no part of it. The thing with Calum was enough.
Michelle laughed, though it was a curt chuckle that died soon after it came out. “Oh, I’d call asking you out again something!” She quieted, inching closer to me. She knelt beside my desk, holding onto its edge as she met my eyes. “Did he kiss you goodnight? Have you two been texting? You’re supposed to tell me these things—I’m your sister! I set you two up. I need to know how it’s going.”
I was tight-lipped about what happened Friday because I didn’t want to talk about it, and I sure as hell didn’t want to relive it. Why couldn’t Michelle see that? Resisting my urge to roll my eyes, I said, “We haven’t been texting. He just said he was sorry for not being his best and said he’d pick me up here on Friday.”
My baby sister blinked, eager to hear every juicy detail—though my story was anything but juicy. If anything, it was the opposite: super bland and dry. “And? Did he kiss you? I swear, Bree, if you had your first kiss and didn’t tell me, I’m going to be so pissed.”
“No,” I quickly said, feeling my cheeks heat up. “He just kissed me on the cheek, and only because he felt bad—”
“A cheek kiss? That’s so sweet.” Michelle stood, pushing herself away from my desk, falling onto my bed with a swooning sigh. “I love cheek kisses.” She propped herself up, giving me a look that I knew too well. “Do you have any idea where you’re going on this second date?”
“No.”
“That’s okay, I can—”
It took everything in me to say, “Michelle, I don’t want…I don’t want your help.”
“What?” She acted shocked.
“If I’m going on this date, I’m going as me.” That much I knew already. I wasn’t going to let Michelle play dress-up with me again, not going to let her put makeup on me and expertly blend my eyeshadow like you saw in those YouTube videos. I wasn’t like that normally. There was no point in trying to be someone I wasn’t, just for a stupid date that was nothing more than a pity date. Surely she could understand that.
“Fine, but I want your word that you’re going to tell me all about it. No more keeping things to yourself,” Michelle spoke, swinging her legs off the bed as she hopped up. “I want every detail. Every single detail.”